King or Pawn
by Almighty Carrots
Summary: An AU story written primarily from Light and Matt's perspectives. Light is struggling to cope with memories that are surfacing from his childhood. Matt needs to understand that even though he's rarely the smartest person in the room, he's still extremely important to those around him. There's some occ-ness, some yaoi, and some nasty stuff inside. Look at this. You know you want to.
1. Chapter 1

Mello himself likes his scars. If he doesn't, he hides it pretty well. Mind you, hiding things is a talent of his. I didn't know a thing about his home life until just a few months ago, and we've been teammates- no, we've been _friends_ for almost five years, and boyfriends for two.

Well, it will be two years tomorrow. Coincidentally, our anniversary falls right on the date of Mello's accident. Lucky us; tomorrow's our anniversary, and instead of doing something romantic, or even just hanging out, we'll be springing Light from some weird Lady's makeshift prison. That guy is so lucky we've known one another for so long. On the plus side, Lawliet is coming with us. That basically means that once we get out of there, we won't have to worry about Light anymore; those two are definitely together, no matter how much they claim to hate each other.

The door to our room swings open, and Mello comes in, plopping gracelessly down on the bed next to me. I laugh as I watch him try to blow his long bangs out of his eyes, and eventually reach over and slide them aside for him, letting my fingers linger on his scarred cheek for a moment before pulling him into a soft kiss. He has no qualms about deepening that kiss when my tongue flicks across his lips, and soon one of his hands has drifted under my shirt. I know where this is going. Or so I thought.

A knock at the door pulls us apart suddenly, cleaving what seemed like a single entity back into its respective parts. In approximately four seconds we've smoothed down each other's mussed hair, and straightened our clothes out.

Mello gets up to answer the door and I watch him go with some resentment. As cute as his butt is, I really want to see Mello's face even more. Stupid people, don't they know what happens behind closed doors? I would pound whoever is on the other side of that door, but the tension in Mello's body is apparent from here. In other words; I might not get the chance.

Of course, it's Law bothering us, so I obviously won't be pounding anybody tonight. Well, besides Mello. Yeah, he better not find out I said that, because he will kick my ass... just kidding, that guy would do anything for me. He got stabbed for me, dude's serious.

So Law, also known as Lawliet or L is you're even lazier than those of us who call him Law; he and Light have at each other's throats since pretty much the dawn of freaking time. My theory is that it's sexual tension. If Light would grow a pair and just bang Law into the ground they would probably get along great. It worked for Mello and I. Sort of; he wasn't really too thrilled about it at the time, which is probably because he has a major control complex.

This isn't about us though.

"I'm supposed to drop these off." Classic Law; doesn't even say hi. Mello reaches out and takes the sealed manila envelopes from Law. Law has deep black circles under his eyes, and his entire body looks hollow and gaunt. His skin is as pale as snow, I swear. Law looks, for lack of better phrasing, like shit. He must not be sleeping again... or eating. Dammit, we're his best friends! You think if something was really bothering him this bad he would have mention to either Mello or myself by now; that's what any normal person would do. Oh yeah, except that we're not talking about a normal person, we're talking about Law, who for some reason feels the need to shoulder everything and everyone's problems entirely on his own.

"Dude, you look like total shit." Nothing beats saying it as it is. "You haven't been eating again, have you?" Now Mello steps back and looks our friend up and down.

"Matt's right, you look terrible." Mello agreed. Then, in true Mello fashion, he grabbed Law by the shoulders, looked him dead in the eye, and said "what the fuck is going on?" His voice so low the room seemed to vibrate around it. Law averted his dull gaze.

"Nothing for you two to worry about. Focus on the mission at hand." And with that he was off, walking down the hall with his head down, flicking through his own papers at a speed too fast for the average human eye to process. Of course, like everything else about Law's mind, his ability to process information is ramped up about 10 times that of the average person. Law has some sort of super brain; he would spend all day playing chess if he could, because he loves the complexity of it. My Mello on the other hand, is simple to a fault.

"Hey! What the hell do you mean 'nothing to worry about'?" Mello bellows angrily after Law's retreating form, leaving the sanctuary of my room to pursue him. As he catches up to Law, he grabs his shoulders and shakes him roughly. "Lawliet, you tell me what the fuck is going on right now, or I swear to freaking God I'll- He stopped speaking suddenly as Law collapsed, the smaller of the two's body going entirely slack. I was standing next to them in an instant, reaching over to take Law's unmoving body from my lover's hands. "Did- did I do that?" He stammered, stumbling back incredulously. The guilt he felt may as well have been written on his face with a permanent marker; it would have been less obvious. My heart twisted painfully as I saw him. I knew he was chewing himself out mentally, and I just can't have that.

"It's not your fault, he would've collapsed anyways. It's a result of him neglecting his basic needs, you didn't do anything. In fact, it's probably a good thing you were here, or else he would've fallen on the ground and hurt himself more." Okay, maybe that last part was stretching it a little, but Mello can be deathly harsh on himself, so it's okay. Seeing Mello relax a little, I turn my attention to Law. Unfortunately I know absolutely nothing about malnutrition, or even basic sicknesses.

Still carrying my friend bridal-style, I pretty much sprint all the way to the infirmary. I'm out of breath by the time I get there, but I don't dare drop Law. Mello opens the door, and thankfully the room is empty of patients at the time.

I lay Law down on one of the bleached beds, and place my hand on his head. It's on fire.

"Sherry!" I call for the 'head' nurse, growing more worried by the second. Law's skin is so pale it's almost translucent, making the blood on his lips stand out starkly against it. Wait, blood? I look closer and see a spattering of the precious red liquid gracing his lips. Shit shit shit. "SHERRY!" I practically scream now, my voice almost cracking. Mello silently grabs Law's hand tightly, his nails biting into the cool flesh as his anxiety grows.

"Calm yourself ya brat, I' coming!" she yells back at me, wandering into the room nonchalantly. Her gait changes upon seeing our grim faces. I'm sure my tension is as obvious as Mello's, especially considering neither of us teased her at all, or even looked up. I feel a hand fall heavily on my shoulder, and I look up to see Sherry's weathered, but determined face. "I'll look after him Hon; you've got your own boy to be worrying about." I look across the bed to Mello, who is looking ghostlier by the second, and nod, working my way around the bed to him.

To the casual outsider, Mello's tougher than granite. I mean, the guy's been shot 16 times, has wicked burn scars, wears a shitload of leather, and doesn't take anybody's crap. If you put a gun to his forehead, he'd laugh in your face; but threaten one of his friends, and he will rip you limb from limb then force feed you your own severed fingers. For being such a tough guy, he loves people. We're his vice. Its people like Sherry, people who are more observant, that know this little tidbit about him.

I stand behind him and wrap my arms around his shoulders, leaning down to whisper in his ear,

"Come on; let's get back to our room. We still have to rescue Light's sorry ass tomorrow, and you're going to need your sleep." I end up pretty much pulling Mello out into the hall, and I'm heading back with him when I hear Sherry calling me back for a minute.

Peeking my head inside the doorframe, I make brief eye contact with her as she looks up at me.

"It looks like it Matchstick's little spill there was the result of a lot of pressure."

"Pressure?" I wonder aloud

"Stress. It happens all the time that people collapse when they're put under extreme stress. Actually, I'm surprised little Matchstick here didn't break sooner with how the Boss has been cracking down on him lately." Well, that's news to me; and it's not news I like.

"What do you mean 'cracking down on him'? I wasn't aware of that." I'm sure Sherry can hear the anger in my voice, because she looks over at me with some apprehension in her eyes. She's regretting telling me; just like Mello regretted telling me about his dad.

Mello... he must feel like total crap right now. He'll be blaming himself for this too, I'm sure. I have to get back to him soon.

"Anyways Hon, I just wanted you to know that he'll be fine. He just needs some rest. Matchstick here'll probably even be fine for your mission tomorrow." I nod slowly, and then head back out into the hall. "And Hon, make sure you look after that boy of yours is okay. I don't want to be seeing him in here like that again."

I turn and run down the hall, tears collecting in my goggles. What happened to Mello was my fault; I should have stopped him sooner, should have noticed something was wrong with him. And now Law's hurt too because I wasn't observant enough.

Right, Mello.

I slam open the door of our room and my heart twists cruelly at the sight of Mello, sitting dejectedly on the bed. His shoulders are slumped, his head hanging low, hair hiding his eyes. But that's not what worries me.

In his hands, fingers tracing over the sharp edge and nicking the skin, is a razor blade.

The lack of blood on his wrists tells me he hasn't actually hurt himself badly yet, but he's clearly thinking about it.

Without even thinking, I knock the wretched thing from his hands, shocking him. He looks up at me, and I force him back onto the bed, putting all my weight on his chest.

"You better not be blaming yourself for this." I growl angrily at him "It wasn't your fault."

"I know" He murmurs in my direction, not looking at me as he spoke. I don't believe him for a second, but I have better things to do from this position than argue.

"Mello" I whisper sadly, softly stroking his hair. "Mello, look at me." When he didn't comply I grew more frustrated, and my voice became rougher. "Look at me!" I demanded, and he did. His eyes were wet at the corners with tears, and he tried to turn away again, but I held his head steady. "I love you Mello" I whispered, leaning in and kissing his tears away. I rest my head on his shoulder, watching as more tears prick at his eyes.

"Why?" his voice cracks as he speaks, and my heart cracks.

"Why what?" I decide to play dumb for as long as I can.

"Why do you say that?"

"I say it because it's true. Mello, I love you." I sit up on my knees and run one hand through his blonde hair. Watching him lie there staring back at me with his bright blue eyes wide open, I have to say it's really a turn on for me. It takes about ½ a millisecond for me to succumb to my most primal urges and all but attack the boy lying beneath me.

In a matter of minutes we're reduced to a sweaty heap of entangled limbs and lust filled moans, and unfortunately, our mission details are forgotten entirely.

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	2. Chapter 2

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"Ah, you must be the famous Light. I've learned so much about you." So she's an older woman, probably late thirties. From the way she speaks she probably has illusions of grandeur, I'll have to mind the ego. She calls me Light, so she obviously has a little bit of background information about me. As for her 'the famous' line... it could be sarcasm, though I can't detect any in her voice. I'll have to think on that one a little more.

"The famous who?" Its best for me to play dumb to start, if I can convince her that I'm a nobody, my chances of escaping increase.

"I know you're Light, you can't trick me. I've had you under surveillance for months." Her voice takes a bitter turn "You're the one who stole my Beloved away from me!" Okay, so she's crazy. That makes this a little harder. No point in trying to be a voice of reason here.

"What do you want with me?"

"Well," she tries to act coy, as if she has some big secret "You'll just have to wait and see, won't you?" I guess I'll be adding a control complex to the growing list of psychosis's I'm tagging to list woman.

She wears a lot of make-up. Hello Kitty shirt and neon pink mini skirt; does this woman think she's twelve? She smells like cheap bubble gum. She's like a child trying to impress someone, and trying way too hard. Her hair is dyed blonde, though not too obviously. She must find her image very important to her, I can see where she has dabbed on concealer to hide her faint wrinkles. She must be older than my original assumption. She's most likely closer to her mid forties.

"This is really no fair. You know everything about me, and I know nothing about you." I'll try to fish some more information from her, or at least keep her talking. The more I can learn about this woman the better. And who's this 'Beloved' I've stolen?

"Fair?" she shrieks, turning to stand right in my face. Instinctively I lean back; so far in fact that I hit the wooden beam behind me. "I'll tell you what's not fair! What's not fair is that I was happy here, and you had to go and steal my happiness away! What's not fair is you taking something that's rightfully mine! How dare you!" Her hand comes back and I barely register the blow in my mind before her open palm is against my cheek, snapping my head sideways with the force of her blow.

My face stings and my ears are ringing. She must be much stronger than I took her for. Perhaps she even trains with weights.

"I hate you Light. I hate you. You stole my Beloved away, and you're going to pay." I figured that was where this was going. She doesn't strike me as the overly intelligent type though, so she probably left an obvious trail. Also, I doubt my payment will be that bad. She seems insane and temperamental, but not really cruel. I doubt she has the ability to construct a truly painful punishment. "By the way, you hurt several of my men when I had you brought here. They've been anxious to return the favour. I hope you don't mind, but I've given them the night to settle your differences. You understand why I had to, I'm sure."

I understand I've been played. Shit and it was so obvious too. My subconscious desire for her to be an absolute invalid clouded my assessment of her character. She played me like a goddamn fiddle.

"Bye-bye Light sweetie. Oh, boys, mind the face. I really like it." The last part must have been said to the men who brought me here, at the top of the stairs. The creepy part is her waving, and smiling like we're old friends. It's utterly unnerving.

Now that she's gone I can take a good look at my surroundings. I'm in a basement of sorts, shackled to a support beam. It's been kept in apparent ill repair. Too apparent actually. I wonder if... Yep! There's the sign I've been looking for, the other supports are new; the humidity hasn't stained them yet, and they aren't nearly as dirty as the one I'm chained to. She must have had the place renovated recently.

That means we must be in a more secluded part of town where something like that can be done covertly. If she picked out this place as a base, however temporary, she wouldn't have wanted it in the public eye, especially if she's been here months. The renovations aren't months old, so she must have either just moved here, or just fixed it up once she had a date to capture me set.

So she does want me alive, otherwise she wouldn't have taken the trouble to repair the place, she would've risked a collapse without any worry.

One of the men, most likely the one in charge because he's acted first, grabs me just under the nose and slams me back into the wooden support hard enough to make my vision sway.

"Kid's been fucking ignoring us!" he yells, and now it clicks. They've been talking this whole time; not that they've had anything interesting to say, but I could've read into them a little and possibly weakened their resolve, or even persuaded them to help me. "I'll teach you to ignore me brat!" He swings a closed fist hard into my gut, and pain causes me to double over -albeit poorly thanks to the shackles- and gasp in an effort to breath. They laugh and poke fun at me, joking about how I can't take a punch. I've been punched by Mello Aulein; this guy is nothing. I could take a thousand of this Leader's punches.

"You really did a number on my arm you fucking bitch!" Another snarls, and I instantly christen him Eyebrows, as they are his only memorable feature. "Well, nothing a little payback won't fix, isn't it?" He pulls a knife, and I draw my eyes along the blade. An Imperial, made with cheap steel, pliable and corrodes easily. He must have a small budget, or poor taste in knives. However, it still will cut my skin fairly easily, and I can feel the cool metal pressed against my cheek, dangerously close to my left eye. I close my eyes and he snickers, but before he can make a cut Leader speaks up.

"Hey! Lady Misa said not to hurt his face!" The knife is moved away, but Eyebrows makes his dislike of the idea clear with a snort. Sensing he is close to snapping and just going berserk on me, I push him.

"You know, for full grown men you seem awfully afraid of one old woman whose only discernible talent appears to be dressing like a five year old. Are you sure you even have a dick in there?" I nod towards his pants, and try to look smug. He jumps on me, all but snarling and biting me. So the taunt was effective.

The seven other men jump into action after Leader, pulling a now near feral Eyebrows off me.

"Calm yourself! He's obviously trying to get a rise out of you! What would you have done if Lady Misa had seen you like that?" Eyebrows doesn't answer,, and Leader continues, his voice taking a disturbing tone "Now, if you really want to prove your a man, there are other ways to show the Kid you've got a pair, if you're following me here." Ah, now the lewd smiles come out. I don't like where this is going.

"Tell me something" Leader says, turning to cup my cheek "Are you a virgin Squirt?" I pull my head harshly away from him at the mention of my old nickname. That's what He used to call me. I can't stand that name; it's like He's here in this room. I can't fight Him off again, not on my own.

"Don't call me that!" I snap involuntarily, and Eyebrows perks up.

"What, you don't like that Squirt?" I bite my lip to stop from lashing out at him.

"No, it's a rather unimaginative nickname and has no real relevance to our current situation." I can't believe I lost control like that! I can't just slip up every time something reminds me of Him.

"I still want an answer Kid" Leader grabs my chin and forces me to look at them "are you a virgin?" he calls me Kid now, that's kind of him. Still hate his guts, but that's a nice consideration.

"What's it to you?"

"Well, we're all about to screw you. I'd really rather find out you had like, AIDS or something now." Surprisingly reasonable want.

"What's to prevent me from lying to you?" Eyebrows tosses Leader his knife, and I watch with mild curiosity as he runs it down the length of my black sweater, splitting the knitted fabric. He places the knife against my ribs and looks up at me, as if he's daring me to lie to him. I debate it, but since he showed me the courtesy of not calling me Squirt, I can repay the favor. "No." I mumble. Poof, we're even now Leader. "But I can't speak for all your friends, 'Brows over there looks like he could still be a cherry." Eyebrows growls now, growing impatient.

"Let's just get the fuck on with it" he says "this bitch is obviously just stalling. We don't have all eternity to get around to fucking this whore." The others agree, and I can feel the chain holding my wrists slacken, though it's still around the post. It must be on a hook.

I'm forced roughly down onto my knees and chest by several hands, and held down as they take the shackles off and replace them with simple plastic cuffs behind my back. Of course with me in this position they begin less polite mocking, and I get slapped on the ass a few times. I try my best to block out they're lewd comments, knowing they mean nothing, but still... Aren't they right in their own way? How many people have to say something about you before it becomes true? I'm sure the statistics are something like hearing it fifteen times.

I tense as my head is yanked back and someone's solid manhood is thrust into my face.

"Suck" the voice orders

"You wish." He responds to my refusal by gripping my upper arm in one hand, and bracing the other against my collarbone. I know what happens now. With a mighty yank, he rips my shoulder crudely from its socket. I let out a scream as a pain unlike any I've ever felt before tears through my body in waves.

"Let's try this again, shall we?" he says coldly to me, and this time I comply. By now the other have lost their patience, and are clawing at my pants, which end up pooled around my knees.

With no regard for preparation, I'm thrust into. The pains that come with the entry make my shoulder feel like a mosquito bite, and I accidently clamp down on the one who's currently in my mouth. With an enraged cry, he twists my shoulder harshly and I let out another yell.

I can feel my tears threatening to fall, and I let them. How much worse could this whole situation get? The one in my front cums, and I choke on the vile stuff, but a voice warns me not to spit it out, so I swallow instead. Next is my ass, which is on fire. At least the blood creating rivers down my legs makes the thrusts easier. The searing pain of the actual ejaculation nothing could have prepared me for; except for the fact that I've already done this before, with Him. He was rougher, harsher, and his words cut deeper than anything these men could possibly do to me.

Their assaults continue until I've lost count of how many times I've been violated; till they finally pull out for good and leave me to lie barely conscious on the cold, wet ground, slick from their 'love making.'

It is now, and only now, that Leader approaches me. His walk isn't like theirs; it's slower, more cautious. Like he's skirting a wounded animal, not a teenager he's about to rape. Hesitantly, as though I might bite him, he pulls me off the ground and wraps his arms around my abused body. I don't notice that he's freed my hands until I'm coherent enough to take in the cold of the room, and pull my arms protectively around myself.

"Who was it the first time Kid?" He asks gently, and I'm thrown for an instant before I can recover. I'm not sure why I feel like answering; maybe it's because after the hell that tonight has been, I feel like even the slightest comfort is an angel heaven sent.

"My father..." I whisper, referring to Him as what He is for the first time in years. I haven't been able to call him that since I left... more like since She kicked me out. Funny thing is, I was kicked out by Her for the same reason I was kidnapped by the Blondie upstairs; 'stealing' Her man. Like I had any say in the matter.

I don't know when I started shaking, but I feel Leader's arms drawn tighter around me.

"You're gonna be okay Kid" he whispers quietly, "He can't hurt you anymore." I don't respond for a while, just sit there and enjoy the comfort of having someone protect me for the first time since I was a child.

'How'd you know?" I finally ask when I've calmed down enough to start thinking about an escape plan. Now he goes silent for a bit, not answering me as I stand up and collect my blood stained jeans and discarded shirt.

"My cousin was a victim; she's in a rehab center now, but we were close before it happened."

"So you just knew the 'signs.' I thought I hid those pretty well." I make a quick mental note to keep a better grip on my emotions. I gave myself away this time.

Looking over at Leader I can tell easily that he feel guilt over his cousin. If I'm subtle enough, I can create enough of a personality resemblance between the two of us that his subconscious connects us, just like mine does with Him and the Boss because of their body types. I open my mouth to speak, but he waves a dismissive hand at me.

"Don't even bother trying to manipulate me Kid; I've already decided to let you go. If I didn't intend to, I wouldn't have cut you loose in the first place." I nod, and slip into my jeans. The blood isn't too bad, except for the seat because of my still bleeding ass. I tie my sweater around my waist, effectively hiding both the blood and the tear in my sweater. Finding my t-shirt halfway across the room, I groan. I have to pop my shoulder back in place to put on my shirt. As capable as I am at one handing and hiding things, even I can't hide a dislocated shoulder.

Wincing, I grab the damaged appendage and position it, bracing my back against the wall and forcing the bones back into place. On the plus side, this new pain distracts from the throbbing in my torn backside.

With some groaning and moaning, I make it up the stairs. Leader wishes me good luck, and I do the same to him, and then we part ways, probably to never see each other again. We never even knew one another's names.

I'm dizzy with blood loss as I slip out into the dark street. I was right, this place is totally secluded. I make what I can assume is about 10 blocks before things start to blur, and I find myself needing to sit down. Leaning with my back against a brick building in the shadows of the night, I stare up at the moon, and find myself struck with an odd thought; it really is a clear night. It's actually rather beautiful, and I'm almost mad at such beauty to exist amidst the many horrors that have happened tonight.

Lawliet would like it here, it's quiet. No Boss running around barking orders at him, no having to explain things a million times to lesser minds, no being treated like an object; this is a place where Law could breathe easy. Someday when I'm no longer traumatized by a building a few blocks away, I'll have to bring him here. That is if I ever work up the courage to ask him out, or even try being friends with him, or he doesn't find someone who actually deserves him first. Well, there's always the chance that he feels as strongly about me as I do about him.

Who am I kidding? It'll snow in hell before someone actually wants me. If he ever knew how screwed up and broken I was, that would be it. He'd be gone, just like everyone else I knew before She threw me out with the trash on garbage day. Nobody could ever want something as fractured and jaded as me.

It's rather sad that my last thought before I passed out was how worthless I am.


	3. Chapter 3

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My eyes flutter open and I immediately half lid them, taking in my surroundings while keeping up the appearance of sleep. In a few seconds I recognize the infirmary back at home. Of course, the blank white walls and starchy sheets aren't my real indicator. What really tips me off as to where I am is the large black woman in nurse scrubs that has, somewhere along the way, become a mother to every kid here; Sherry.

That said, she does know all my secrets –I even told her about Him in a moment of weakness- which is why it's no surprise to hear she's already aware I'm up,

"I know you're awake Light; you might be able to fool the rest of the world, but you ain't pulling a fast one on this nurse." I don't even bother to keep up the charade of being tired, instead I opt to sit up and talk to the nurse at eye level. It's a nerves thing; I really hate being beneath people.

The chill of the room hits my bare chest as the sheets fall away, but that shock isn't as bold, or bad as the protests my rear end is making. Without meaning to I gasp, trying to keep the pain from my face using my usual mask. Naturally, Sherry doesn't buy that for a second.

"Now sweetie, you need to take it easy. No sudden movements or you could tear yourself even more by accident. Relax a few days; doctor's orders."

"You're a nurse" I protest, but she won't have any of that, pushing me back down into a horizontal position.

"Out there I'm a nurse, but in here I'm the law, and you'd better believe it young man." I believe it. I've seen firsthand what happens to people who disobey Sherry's orders, and it is not pretty. Suffice to say that if you try to avoid resting in the hospital, she will make it all you're capable of.

Her face takes a turn for the soft, and she reaches down let her fingers rest on my forehead, checking my temperature.

"How you feeling now sweetie? You had a fever when the boys brought you in; and before you ask, no, they don't know. But if you think you can hide anything form Matchstick, you've got another thing coming." Honestly, I didn't think I could. If he's curious about my injuries, it's best to come flat out and just tell Law, or else I run the risk of him finding out about Them. Then he'll definitely be disgusted with me. "He was in here when they brought you in, you know; and that crazy brat won't leave. He's set up some sort of office on the bed and everything."

"Ha, yeah, that sounds like him." I manage a laugh, for Sherry's sake. She's looking over here at every thirty second interval like she's expecting me to burst into tears or something. For someone who knows me so well, you'd think she'd have caught on that I sooner die than cry with an audience.

The door clicks open, and Matt and Mello walk in. I truthfully don't know how they manage to have sex; neither seems the bottom type to me. Matt is, as always, the first to notice I'm awake. He has excellent eyesight, despite the fact that he's always wearing those goggles.

"Light! You're alive!" He cheers, after which he nearly suffocates me with the biggest hug I've ever had in my life. Mello promptly drags him off me when my face starts going numb. He then proceeds to stand there awkwardly and shift from foot to foot, as though he's not quite sure what to do or say.

"Uh... it's good to see you're-

"Quit being such a moron and just hug the boy already!" Sherry is the only person, living or dead, who can talk to Mello like that or rein him in. Unless I'm mistaken and Matt tops Mello, in which case there are two people who can push him around like that.

Lastly, Lawliet comes into the room, though if you weren't expecting him you'd never notice he was there at all. All though Law is clearly content to sit in a corner and bite his thumb, Matt –being the excitable pushy person he is- felt it necessary to literally pick him up and drop him on the bed next to me. Luckily I manage to bite my lip and avoid drawing to much attention to the pain I'm in.

This, despite popular bets, did in fact snap Law out of his little world and back into reality with the rest of us.

"Oh. Good afternoon Light. Nice to see you're up."

"Yeah, so I've heard." He flips open one of the files he's carrying and holds it out for me.

"Can you take a look at this for me?" I take it, but don't miss the flash of anger that Matt fails to hide at the mention of Law's work. I prop myself up on on elbow to get a better look at the file. It's just some stupid investigation that they're screwing up.

"Their theory is all wrong." I comment, not pointing out the glaringly obvious counter evidence because Law already knows it. He just needed someone to second him so that the Boss will shut up and close the damn case.

"I know" Law replies, moving off the bed I'm on, and to his 'office,' which is really just a bunch of paper tacked and safety pinned to a mattress. The pillow is nowhere in sight; he hasn't been sleeping again. Strange, I would've thought that under Sherry's constant supervision he would have been a bit better taken care of.

Well, there's no point in me worrying about him. I shouldn't be wasting my time thinking about things I can never get. Like my family back; how stupid was I to spend so many years crying over that? What a waste of perfectly good life. It's not like I need them anyways; if anything, my new experiences here at the compound have just proven how easily replaceable they really are. I don't miss them... I can't.

"Li~ght! Yoo hoo, earth to Light!" Matt flicks my forehead and I knock his hand away

"Cut it out!"

"You were going comatose on me! I had to do something!" Ah, what a truly Matt statement. This is one of the many reasons that my dear friend will never be a doctor, not to say that he and Mello can't pretend all they want.

Did I just make a sex joke? Matt must be rubbing off on me more than I thought.

I can hear Mello talking to Matt; probably chewing him out for poking an injured person, even if they're sketchy on the details of said injury. My friends arguing really isn't an unpleasant sound to fall asleep to.


End file.
